Truck and/or Lift (887s) let me down big time.

I've been completely satisfied with my Tacoma since I bought it new in 2009 until now. Currently around 68k miles on it. Most recent suspension upgrade was to 887s with bilstein 5100s (set at 0), 1/4in Spacer on driverside to correct lean and Wheelers 1.5in AAL.

Current lift has been on for less then 1000 miles,

I was on my yearly wheelin trip to CO, made it nearly there and started hearing a squeaking sound when we were drivng below 5mph in a parking lot, but did not think too much of it.

Fast forward to the next day and we are on a easy trail, but got stuck in a mudhole, front wheels were not pulling. Winched it out and found this:



Left CV gave out on us. No evidence that we hit anything that caused it.

So.. got a new CV installed the next day and everything seemed fine. Don't have a picture, but the CV angle on the L side didn't look severe enough to be an issue.

We wheeled for the next 3 days (it was awesome BTW)

On the last day, headed back in off the final trail, we hear a metallic clank....

The left CV shaft separated at the upper boot.

Don't have a pic, but will upload once my buddy sends me his pics.

So now, I have to figure out a way to get this thing back nearly 700 miles home.

The shop still had the old damaged cv and swapped in what was left of the lower cv so that we could drive it without a shaft clanging around and damaging everything around it., so the picture above is what we left out with minus the actual shaft.

We made that way all of 100 miles (driving slowly and carefully) until we got a vibration and a Lug sheered from the L wheel. Then we drove about 600 miles like this:





The Right CV seems fine with an acceptable amount of play.

I looked into getting a dif drop, but from what I found, those weren't really helping.

Am I going through CV's like this because of that Driverside Spacer lifting the L side more than the R? or is there something else going on here? Any help appreciated. Anyone else having this problem with this amount of lift?

 

Im curious why after the 2nd cv went out that you just didnt disco the front driveshaft and drive it home on its own?

Or did i read it wrong?

 

because the CV axles still spin even if the front diff isnt engaged

 

I'm not sure that would have helped. We had to have way to keep the L front wheel rolling and had to get what was left of the 2nd shaft out of there as it would have still been an big liability.

 

This. Everything would be spinning and that broken cv shaft could have really got lose and damage brake lines, etc.

 

I would definitely leave the lean spacer out. I have the pro comp lift coils on my truck and it made an already sloppy cv go out fast. Pulled the spacer and installed new cv and all is well. If I recall correctly a 1/4" spacer on top of the coil is equal to 1/2" of lift. With 887's probably is over extending.

 

Thanks, that is the first step I'll be taking. Trying to figure out if more will be necessary like a dif drop. Although I don't want to drop the diff, I want to keep the clearance (and the Allpro skid)

 

It could just be the photo but the bottom of the strut looks a little bent as well.

 

the best way to tell is to lift the truck all the way off the ground, and spin the tires and see if the CV's are binding at full droop, if they are then you might have to look into lowering the front a bit. also, the Boot slide mod will save your CV Boots if the fins are rubbing on each other

 

Also, I believe the 2nd CV likely went out when we hit an obstacle and the L front wheel dropped far enough to pull the CV out.

It's just the photo, Shock wasn't bent.

 

This.

They're pretry easy to remove/replace. Why would you wheel 700mi away from home without spare parts and basic tools?

 

I don't recommend the spacer for anything over 2.5" of lift. After replacing my body mount bushings, my truck sits 3/4" higher on the driver side with the spacer. The lean is not a suspension problem, it's a body mount bushing issue. You were at 3.5" or more of lift on the driver side. I would guess that sped up your CV issues. Were those the stock CVs on your '09?

 

yes, 1st cv that went out was the original.

 

I also agree w/the above. I actually think it's closer to a 3:1 ratio so that would be closer to 3/4"

 

Pull that spacer and life should be good.

 

I really hope you are right... I was planning on pulling it as soon as the 2nd one failed.

 

I've been debating 885 or 887 for my access cab... 885 just got a big nudge

 

Are you sure your 5100's were set to zero

 

Just an FYI. I understand what you are getting at. We had basic tools, but no spare CV's. To give you an idea of what we were doing, it was mostly gravel roads with a few steep places requiring 4x4. Old mining roads, etc. We stayed off the hard trails for the very reason of being 700 miles out.

 

885 would be the way to go from what I understand. My double cab has a hidden receiver hitch, sliders and All Pro skid. It's not light.